Yale to Face Off Against Harvard and Princeton

Brandon Giles (photo by Sam Rubin '95, Yale Sports Publicity)

Feb 12, 2009

Feb. 12, 2009

NEW HAVEN, Conn. -
This Saturday, the Bulldogs will head to Cambridge to take on strong competition in the Yale-Harvard-Princeton tri-meet. The meet will be held at Harvard's Gordon Track, which will be the site of the 2009 Indoor Heptagonal Championships in two weeks. With only four weeks left in the indoor track season, this is the final regular-season competition for the Bulldogs before Indoor "Heps."

Last year, the Bulldogs scored 52 points to easily beat the Crimson's 25, but fell short of the Tigers' score of 92. The Bulldogs ended the meet on a good note, however, with convincing wins and season bests in both the 4x400 meter and the 4x800 meter relays.

One of the individual highlights of last year's meet was junior Chris Labosky's win in the 1,000-meter run. Labosky ran a personal best of 2:25.54, which was a top-10 all-time indoor performance for the Bulldogs, and well under the IC4A standard. Labosky has recently returned from injury, and raced an impressive lead-off leg for Yale's distance medley relay at the Giegengack Invitational last weekend.

So far this season, Yale is undefeated in Ivy competition after trouncing Dartmouth and Columbia last month. This weekend could present a better challenge for the Bulldogs. The Harvard men are coming off a win at the "Battle of Beantown," and Princeton had a number of strong performances while competing at the un-scored Princeton open last weekend.

Princeton, last year's runner-up at Indoor Heps, will once again be a force for the Bulldogs to reckon with at this meet. However, the Bulldogs bring a well-balanced team with strong performers across all event groups.

In the sprints, senior Brandon Giles and junior Reynolds Holmes have run fast times in the 60-meter dash. Holmes also has one of the top long jump marks in the league. Giles has the second-fastest 200-meter dash time in the league, but this event will be un-scored at the meet this weekend because it is not contested at Heps. The longer sprints are equally strong, with juniors Remi Ray and David Soiles having run the two fastest 500-meter dash times in the league so far this year.

Other Bulldogs that have put up some of the top marks in the Ivy League so far this season include seniors Murat Kayali (mile), Jared Bell (3,000m) and Jeffrey Lachman (shot put, weight throw). Also, the 4x400-meter and 4x800-meter relays have faster times than both Harvard and Princeton this season.

Giles, this year's track captain, is excited for the competition this weekend.

"This meet is a great preview for Heps, because we're matching up with Princeton, a favorite for indoor Heps, as well as an improved Harvard team," Giles said. "It's also at the venue where Heps will be held."

Saturday's competition will begin with the men's 5K at 12:15 p.m., which will be an un-scored event. A complete schedule can be found here. To see how the Bulldogs fare this weekend, check back at www.yalebulldogs.com Saturday evening.